Celebration’s boys swimming team will be favored to defend its title, while the Storm girls’ team is expected to give defending champion Harmony all they can handle at today’s Orange Belt Conference swimming meet. It starts at 10 a.m. at the Bob Makinson Aquatic Center. Diving took place Wednesday evening.
The Storm seek their third consecutive OBC boys team title, and have a senior-laden team led by all-state performer Felipe Costa (100 backstroke) and sprint specialists Greg Kamensky and Brandon Cunningham. Look for Roman Sukhorukov, another senior, to be a point scorer in multiple events.
The Storm has already defeated most of the top county teams this year, including Harmony (117- 56) two weeks ago and a tri-meet win over Gateway (217-54) and Osceola (204-55) a week earlier.
Harmony, traditionally one of the county’s stronger programs, will look for solid performances from Bryan Wong in the 200 IM and Alexander Tanon in the 500 freestyle.
The girls’ championship should be tightly contested between Celebration and Harmony. In September, the Storm got a victory and a tremendous effort from its 400 free relay to defeat the Longhorns, 84-82, but diving was not included and Harmony has one of the area’s best in Amelia Wagner.
Harmony Coach T.J. Walters is hoping that Wagner’s finish in diving could help his team defend the team title. Harmony will have a potential 50 and 100 free winner in Sarina Steele, who was a state qualifier last year along with Hailey Gaspard in the 100 breaststroke. The Longhorns’ 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays will also be among the favorites.
“It’s going to be a close meet and when you factor in diving, I think on paper we have enough points to win the team title. But we all know what happens to paper in water,” Walters quipped. “It’s going to be a razorthin margin as not much separates Harmony and Celebration. It’s a battle that could go down to the last event.”
Should the Harmony girls’ win, it would be their eighth title in 10 years and 13th overall.
The Storm girls’ team may have something to say about that. In the dual meet with the Longhorns, Head Coach Kelly Walton got double wins from Sarah Moreno in the 100 free and 200 individual medley and wins by Sophia Galvao in the 100 breast and Monoi LeHelley in the 50 free.
Like Walters, Walton also believes the meet with go down to the wire. “Our girls are right there with Harmony. Diving was not calculated in the dual meet so those points will be important. But the two teams are very close in talent and it should be a great meet.”
There are also several outstanding swimmers from the other programs that may have a chance to reach the top of the podium in individual events. Osceola Coach Krystle Bayliss believes seniors Anthony Ambrosi (50 and 100 free) and Noah Maniace (500 free, 100 breast) on the boys side and freshman Abigal Maniace (100 fly, 100 back) on the girls’ side could compete for titles.
“It’s been a trying year for us with COVID-19 tracing, scheduling practice time in a new pool and other factors,” Bayliss noted. “We’re looking for a competitive meet.”
“It’s going to be a razor-thin margin as not much separates Harmony and Celebration. It’s a battle that could go down to the last event.”
— T.J. WALTERS Harmony Coach
